Oxford City Council lays groundwork for mayor’s court

The Oxford City Council discussed the framework for creating a mayor’s court during its first meeting of February.

Doug Elliott, city manager for the City of Oxford, spoke to the council about the early stages of setting up a mayor’s court in Oxford.

As previously reported by the Oxford Free Press, Oxford’s Area 1 Court will cease operation inside of the Oxford Courthouse by March 31 and move to Hamilton alongside the Area 2 Court.

The City of Oxford has been looking into ways to fill the space at the Oxford Courthouse following the moving of the Area 1 Court, including adding a mayor’s court.

A mayor’s court would handle minor misdemeanors, traffic violations and municipal ordinance infractions.

Elliott said establishing a mayor’s court requires the hiring of a clerk, prosecutor and a magistrate. 

According to Elliott, the magistrate would be appointed by Mayor Mike Smith with consent of the city council, while the clerk and prosecutor would be appointed by the city manager.

Elliott suggested the magistrate and prosecutor be part-time employees, while the clerk would be a full-time employee.

The salaries of these positions will be offset by revenue gained by cases held in the mayor’s court, according to Elliott.

The city council discussed the possibility of hosting a works session in the near future to go over details and work through the next steps of creating a mayor’s court.

Resident Ann Fuehrer spoke during public comment about concerns on the local level regarding ICE that were brought to the city council during its last meeting on Jan. 20 by local middle school teacher Katie Bowers.

In an interview with the Oxford Free Press, Fuehrer said she hopes for more discussion to take place.

Fuehrer shared her belief that not doing anything isn’t helping. 

“Silence is not protection,” she said.

Fuehrer urged the city council to work with locals and residents to address ICE concerns brought to council.

“I would welcome a discussion with public participation of council and staff’s reaction to Kate Bower’s request,” Fuehrer said. “At least acknowledge that the concern is here in the community.”

The Oxford City Council will meet again on Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Oxford Courthouse on 118 W. High St.